--- title: NASA: SpaceX, Boeing on Track to Get Astronauts into Space by 2017 description: Boeing's first unmanned test flight is scheduled for 2016 canonical: https://time.com/3683820/spacex-boeing-nasa-iss-space-astronaut/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-27T13:25:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:01.307Z article:section: Science og:title: NASA: SpaceX, Boeing on Track to Get Astronauts into Space by 2017 og:description: Boeing's first unmanned test flight is scheduled for 2016 og:url: https://time.com/3683820/spacex-boeing-nasa-iss-space-astronaut/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ff2ed123210b61/69877abc3c16395eb3451430/spacex-rocket-launch-elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: SpaceX Falcon 9 Elon Musk og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NASA: SpaceX, Boeing on Track to Get Astronauts into Space by 2017 twitter:description: Boeing's first unmanned test flight is scheduled for 2016 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13ff2ed123210b61/69877abc3c16395eb3451430/spacex-rocket-launch-elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # SpaceX, Boeing on Track to Get Astronauts into Space by 2017 > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 27, 2015 1:25 PM UTC  The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX on a cargo resupply service mission to the International Space Station lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Jan. 10, 2015. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX on a cargo resupply service mission to the International Space Station lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Jan. 10, 2015.Mike Brown—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 27, 2015 1:25 PM UTC Boeing and SpaceX expect to be in a position to launch astronauts into space by 2017, NASA [announced Monday](http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-boeing-spacex-outline-objectives-to-station-flights/#.VMeJZ1omV5m). At a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA said the two companies were on track to fly U.S. astronauts to the ISS within two years. Boeing and SpaceX have already completed some of the preliminary testing necessary to get vessels in orbit. “It’s an incredible testament to American ingenuity and know-how, and an extraordinary validation of the vision we laid out just a few years ago as we prepared for the long-planned retirement of the space shuttle,” said Charlie Bolden, NASA administrator, according to a [press release](http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-boeing-spacex-outline-objectives-to-station-flights/#.VMeJZ1omV5m). The two companies were selected to build vessels under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will help the U.S. launch astronauts into low-earth orbit and get them to the International Space Station. NASA retired its space shuttle program in 2011 and has been relying on Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, to get astronauts into space ever since—at a cost of $71 million per seat. “I don’t ever want to write another check to Roscosmos after 2017,” Bolden said Monday, according to [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-boeing-track-take-astronauts-space-station-2017-n293746). “If we can make that date, I’ll be a happy camper.” Boeing expects to conduct a crewless test flight in April 2017 and one with a test pilot by that July. SpaceX said Monday they will conduct a crewless flight in late 2016, and get a pilot in the air by early 2017\. Eventually, the program is also expected to open a pathway to getting private citizens into space. ### PHOTOS: See SpaceX's Biggest Milestones  SpaceX embarked on its first deep space mission with the launch of this Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 11, 2015 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., after two previous failed attempts. Onboard is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which will head 1 million miles from Earth to watch for incoming geomagnetic storms that could trigger power outages on our planet. John Raoux—AP  On May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. SpaceX  A rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon ship lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on April 18, 2014. John Raoux—AP  Falcon 9 awaits its upcoming launch in SpaceX's hangar with landing legs attached on March 12, 2014. SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches with Thailand’s Thaicom 6 satellite aboard, on Jan. 6, 2014 from Cape Canaveral SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral, on Nov. 28, 2013. SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rolls out of the hangar on Nov. 28, 2013. SpaceX  A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a small science satellite for Canada is launched from a newly refurbished launch pad in Vandenberg Air Force Station in California, on Sept. 29, 2013. Gene Blevins—Reuters  SpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, Grasshopper, completes a 1,066-ft. (325 meter) hop on June 14, 2013 before landing back on the pad. SpaceX  A SpaceX component preparing for testing in the world's largest vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. SpaceX  SpaceX's Dragon on the recovery boat on April 13, 2013. NASA  SpaceX's Dragon is grappled by the International Space Station on April 13, 2013. NASA  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket leaves the hangar at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 8, 2013. SpaceX  Nine Merlin engines for the inaugural Falcon 9 flight, ready to be installed in the booster, on March 8, 2013. SpaceX  From left: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk view the Dragon capsule that returned to Earth on May 31, 2012 following the first successful mission by a private company to carry supplies to the International Space Station, at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, on June 13, 2012. Bill Ingalls—NASA/Reuters  SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean off of Baja California on May 31, 2012. SpaceX/Reuters  SpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft is berthed to the International Space Station on May 25, 2012. NASA/Reuters  A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft blasts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, on May 22, 2012. Red Huber—MCT/Getty Images  The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 2012. Pierre Ducharme—Reuters  SpaceX'S Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, on Dec. 8, 2010. NASA—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  From left: President Barack Obama and Head of SpaceX Elon Musk tour Cape Canaveral, on April 15, 2010. Jim Young—Reuters  On April 22, 2008, Musk's company landed NASA's launch services contract for Falcon 1 and 9 rockets. Here, the SpaceX factory in Los Angeles is shown on Nov. 21, 2008. 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